pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with a possible explanation. new information has surfaced about the suspected gunman in last week's colorado theater shooting that claimed 12 lives. law enforcement officials say james holmes mailed a package to the school he attended containing detailed writings about killing people. nbc's jay gray has details. >> reporter: federal agents tell nbc news, james holmes, the suspect in the movie theater massacre, told them where to find what could be key evidence in the case. the former neuroscience graduate student apparently told investigators about a package he had sent to the university of colorado's medical campus in aurora. police found that package on monday unopened in the school's mail room. inside they discovered what's described as handwritten details about killing people. as the investigation continues, so does the mourning here. >> i'm overwhelmed by the tragedy of all of this and the senselessness of all of it, and,

i mean, good people taken. >> reporter: people like 51-year-old gordon cowden. the oldest victim of the massacre took his two teenaged daughters to the movie. they survived. he was laid to rest, the first of at least 12 funerals for victims of the attack. after the chaos and killing at the theater, there are now growing questions in this grieving community about what will happen to the crime scene. some say it should be torn down and replaced by a memorial. others, though, argue the cinema should be reopened to show the gunman didn't win that night. right now the building is still locked down by police but could be returned to the owners by the end of the week. jay gray, nbc news, aurora, colorado. meanwhile three hospitals taking care of some of the victims wounded in the shooting say they're either going to limit or complete wipe out their medical bills. well, in the wake of the colorado shootings, gun control has become a hot topic on the campaign trail. last night, speaking to the national urban league in new

orleans, the president tried to strike a balance between the right to bear arms and weaponry he sees having no place in society. >> i also believe a lot of gun owners would agree that ak-47s belong in the hands of soldier, not in the hands of criminals. >> well, earlier in the day in an interview with nbc's brian williams, republican presidential candidate mitt romney had a different take on the issue. >> i don't happen to believe that america needs new gun laws. a lot of what this young man did was clearly against the law, but the fact that it was against the law did not prevent it from happening. well, elsewhere in politics the senate held two key votes involving the extension of the bush-era tax cuts, but the battle will likely continue until the end of the year and remain one of the key issues in the presidential race. nbc's jennifer johnson has that story from washington. >> the bill has passed. >> the senate passing a democratic bill extending tax cuts for the majority of americans but not the very wealthy.

earlier the republican plan giving the cuts to everyone failed, a victory for president obama, but the democrats' plan is considered dead on arrival in a republican-controlled house. >> the good news is that this new convoluted democratic bill will never make it to the president's desk. the house should take this legislation up and pass it now. >> the tax showdown is at the heart of the presidential race. president obama accuses republicans of protecting the wealthy. >> they've decided to hold middle class tax cuts hostage until we agree to spend another $1 trillion on tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. >> mitt romney is in london kicking off an overseas trip. before he left he said president obama should prevent massive defense cuts set to go into effect at the end of this year. >> the new president will be able to put together his own budget and his own tax plan, which will get the economy going and finally get us on track to a balanced budget. >> jennifer johnson, nbc news, washington.

and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. two separate scuffles erupted inside a pennsylvania theater causing moviegoers to panic. surveillance cameras rolled on a fight between patrons sparked by a dispute over a bathroom stall. well, later a fight inside a theater showing "the dark knight rises" led to a stampede toward the exits. two people were injured, and one person was arrested. homeowners in one miami residential area received a startling wakeup call. a 10-foot crocodile was spotted lounging near two homes before an animal control officer was called in. the animal hissed and snapped, but was eventually taken away. one north carolina woman got quite a steal at the thrift store. she bought two paintings for 20 bucks with plans to paint over them, but after doing some research she learned the artwork was by a famous russian abstract artist. sotheby's is scheduled to

auction the pieces. they could sell for around $20,000. and, finally, the ohio state fair kicked off yesterday. thousands are expected to indulge in 17 different kinds of food on a stick. and take in the always popular butter sculpture which honors the bicentennial of the city of columbus. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has a very busy weather channel forecast. >> you grew up, you were a ohio girl. did you ever go to the state fair? >> absolutely. everybody would go to the ohio state fair. >> go on those rickety rides? >> enjoy a couple elephant ears. classic american fair. >> very impressive. good morning, everyone. we're watching the weather pattern throughout the west. it's been dry lately and it will continue that way. still cool on the coast and inner mountain west, been pretty warm. 99 in boise.

106 in vegas, 106 in phoenix. so we're in a very typical summerlike pattern. this is usually what you expect to occur. we're cooling it off at night and then during the daylight with a lot of sniof sunshine, w warming things up. we're at 72 in boise, so already at that warm start, a warm finish, 85 in vegas. not much happening out here. we have and on shore flow continuing. clouds have made their way into coastal locations. we'll burn them off during the afternoon. hot once again during the high pressure system. the cold front did didn't make to the south far enough to cool off boise today. 101 the forecast high. salt lake city 99. l.a. to san francisco, just like yesterday. that's a look at youroastal are

california. san diego after morning clouds sunny and 73. looks like that tranquil weather pattern remains in the west. well, coming up, zynga falls, caterpillar spreads its wings, and your chance to hang out with big foot if you want to. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, no denial, no excuses, kristin stewart owns up to her indiscretions and apologizes. phillies reward cole hamels, the dodgers hook a marlin, and u.s. women's soccer plays a game before the games. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. syrian army forces are attacking aleppo, the country's largest city, attempting to root the rebels who have been trying to

take control there. the fighting came as turkey announced it has sealed its border but will continue to allow syrian refugees through. the new leader in north korea, kim jong-un, has gotten married. north korea has confirmed that ri sol ju is the wife of the new leader. in anaheim, california, the u.s. attorney's office will review the police shootings of two men that sparked days of violent protests. the mother of one victim condemned the protest saying that she did not want them to become her son's legacy. and skydiver, "fearless felix" baumgartner took another leap from the stratosphere, this time from an altitude of more than 18 miles and landed safely in new mexico. next time he plans a jump from 23 miles, going supersonic and breaking the speed of sound with just his body. unreal. and now here's an early look at how wall street's going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,676 after

gaining 58 points yesterday. the s&p was down a fraction. the nasdaq fell 8. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei rose 77 points, while in hong kong the hang seng was up 15. well, a mixed wednesday on wall street brought a little good, bad, and ugly. the worst news came late in the day from zynga. the maker of the popular farmville game slashed its 2012 outlook and badly missed earnings estimates. zynga plunged as much as 40% after hours. investors now fear a ripple effect for facebook when it delivers its first earnings report today. the social network, which gets 15/% of its revenue from farmville, hit a new low in late trade. yesterday the bad news came from apple. the company's rare earnings stumble weighed down tech stocks as apple shares fell 4%. but despite apple's big stumble, impressive earnings from

caterpillar spelled good news for big chips. likewise, better than expected earnings from boeing also helped keep the dow out of the red. on the same day the plane maker announced an $11 billion purchase from aeromexico. housing stocks were among the day's worst performers on news june's drop in single-family home sales was the biggest in more than a year. today new data shows urban foreclosures were up in the first half of 2012. radio shack hit an all-time low, spiraling 29% thanks to an unexpected earnings loss, which forced the retailer to suspend its shareholder dividend. elsewhere ford reported better than expected profit, but roughly doubled its forecast for losses in europe, sending shares down 1%. and, finally, a so-called big foot aficionado who claims he had an encounter with the real sasquatch 35 years ago is now selling an eight-foot replica of the hairy beast on

ebay, if you can believe it. bidding begins at $80,000. well, coming up the phils torture the brewers again, a big trade for the dodgers, and team usa takes the pitch. plus, the major league soccer all-stars knock off the european champs. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and i'm still tracking severe weather, and it will get worse this afternoon. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports the philadelphia phillies re-signed their 2008 world series mvp lefty with baseball's second largest contract ever for a pitcher. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. cole hamels has hit the jackpot. the phillies' ace signed a six- year, $144 million extension. it's the largest contract for a philadelphia athlete in any sport. big day for hamels and another big win for the phils. tied the game in the tenth, and then jimmy rollins ends it, rbi single. phillies rally for the third straight game to beat the brewers 7-6 in ten. dodgers hooked a marlin yesterday, acquiring hanley ramirez from miami. he made an instant impact against the cards. rbi single in the sixth inning

ties the game at 2-2. this one went extras. kind of ironic. l.a. traded rafael furcal last season, leaving a hole at shortstop, which ramirez will now fill. and rafael gets the game-winning hit in the twelfth inning. cards win, 3-2. the great one, wayne gretzky on hand to watch the yankees and mariners. from one captain to another, derek jeter leaves the yard in the first inning, his eighth home run giving the yankees the early lead. fast forward to the eighth. seattle up one, sacks full for jayson nix. rips a bases-loaded double. new york wins, 5-2, but loses alex rodriguez to the d.l. with a broken hand. the opening ceremony of the olympics is tomorrow night, but the games began yesterday. the women's u.s. soccer team rallied from two goals down to beat france, 4-2. alex morgan scored a pair. and speaking of soccer, david beckham and the mls all-stars squared off against chelsea. pick it up in the second half. mls down one, dwayne de rosario finds a wide open chris pontius. the d.c. united connection ties the game at 2-2. stays that way until stoppage

time. kyle beckerman threads the needle to eddie johnson. he makes one move and gets the friendly bounce off the defender. mls rallies to beat the european champs, 3-2. and that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. well, trouble over a lady gaga doll, and, lindsay lohan, hire yourself a chauffeur already. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, it's hard to say what's more impressive, his age or how long he's had his current job. you're watching "early today."

very nice forecast for everyone waking up with us on the west coast. looking pretty nice in hawaii, too. we will see warm temperatures once again interior sections. just another banner day. plenty of sunshine in the northwest. portland at 84 and sunny today. seattle near 82. tomorrow well s tomorrow temperatures stay very warm. most thunderstorm activity whether stay in new mexico and wyoming. if you're watching us on knbc 4 southern california, in los angeles, explore the influence of baseball, an american folk art, at baseball, the all-american game. and that's your pacific event of the day. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. well, kristin stewart wasted no time dealing with that news that

she had a fling with a married director. she issued a public apology aimed at her boyfriend of three -- >> don't mind the director's wife and kids. >> yeah, broken home and all that. "twilight" co-star robert pattinson, saying she was deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrassment she caused. her statement ended, quote, this momentary indiscretion has jeopardized the most important thing in my life, the person i love and respect the most, rob. i love him, i love him, i'm so sorry. >> she's just sorry she got caught. okay. speaking of vampires, nbc has ordered ten episodes of a new dracula series starring the "tudors" jonathan rhys meyers. lady gaga is being sued for $10 million by a toy manufacturer who claims she purposely prevented a christmas release of lady gaga dolls so they would come out in 2013 when her next album and perfume are

released. and, finally, bill's going to love this. reports say from tmz that lindsay lohan has had yet another traffic accident. she banged her black porsche into a silver mustang at a red light on sunset boulevard. >> so? and this comes to us from ksn news in wichita, kansas, where in nearby winfield, giving a full day's work was the best way for one walmart employee to celebrate two milestones. loren has worked at the discount department store for the last 25 years, so it was no surprise when the long-time employee showed up for work on his 100th birthday. he still enjoys the job, so he has no plans to retire, particularly, he says, because it keeps him from chasing women, which his wife of 65 years, i'm sure, appreciates. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

for kids in south korea, lazy days and summer reading just isn't enough. at a camp run by retired marines, over a hundred students participate in grueling military-style training to teach discipline and keep in shape. that's rough. they marched, crawled, and even yelled commands in exercises meant to test their physical and mental endurance. the camp has trained over 200,000 civilians since 1997. another south korean has a grueling task on his hands. after six years in the making, the 34-year-old is hoping to launch a homemade satellite into space. the components only cost about 440 bucks, but the price of the launch could reach over $100,000.

he plans for the satellite to send messages between people by flashlight in morse code that can be seen from earth. and, finally, every restauranteur's nightmare recently occurred in london. a customer at the playboy club broke a 1778 bottle of cognac. it was worth about $78,000. first he ordered two glasses for almost $8,000 each, but when he stood up to admire the bottle, he sent it flying across the room and it shattered. they forgave the customer with no charge. i thought if you break it, you buy it. >> i didn't know you could drink stuff that's that aged. >> that's because we go to places where we get $6 glasses of wine. this is how we roll. >> a box. >> exactly, because we're classy like that. it's time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. a motion hearing will be held in

the lawsuit filed by new orleans saints linebacker jonathan vilma who's trying to delay or overturn his season-long suspension for his alleged involvement in the saints' bounty scandal in which a pool of up to $50,000 was reportedly in place for players who inflicted game-ending injuries on opponents. on its final day, making rounds in london before the opening ceremony, the olympic flame will be run by u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon and welcomed at buckingham palace by princes william and harry and kate, the duchess of cambridge. and mick jagger turns 69 today. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and more as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. meredith vieira sits down with the director of the london olympics opening ceremony as he prepares for tomorrow's big event. and live from london, british chef jamie oliver stops by to share some healthy recipes. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more.

i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. the day, today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac www.vitac.com

>> child molestation charges ignored. new charges about a camp counselor and what the church that hired him knew. >> there is a significant rodent problem at the facility. >> what you see in this photo launched a massive recall at a food warehouse. >> this is a live look, this is london, just hours ahead of the start of the olympic games. nbc bay area's own raj mathai is live for us from london on this thursday, july 26, 2012. this is "today in the bay."